The Nigerian Exchange closed the trading day of March 18, 2026 in the red, shedding 1,402.7 points to settle at 201,156.8.
This represents a 0.69% decline from the previous close of 202,559.6, as the All-Share Index slipped below the 202,000 level, signalling weakening momentum.
Despite the decline, trading activity surged sharply, with total volume rising to 6.06 billion shares from 1.7 billion shares, driven largely by heavy transactions in ETranzact.
Market capitalisation, however, declined to N129.1 trillion across 58,562 deals, slipping from N130 trillion recorded in the previous session.
What the data is saying
Market sentiment weakened on March 18, 2026, trimming the Nigerian market’s year-to-date return to 29.27% as investors continued to rotate positions across selected equities.
- Secure Electronic Technology and Guinness Nigeria led the gainers’ chart, advancing by 10.00% and 9.92%, respectively, reflecting pockets of buying interest despite the broader market softness.
On the downside, profit-taking pressures weighed on Red Star Express and Aradel, which declined by 9.98% and 9.68%, respectively.
- In terms of volume, Etranzact recorded the highest activity with 5.1 billion shares traded, followed by Wema Bank with 111.3 million and Coronation Insurance at 96.4 million shares.
- Dangote Cement saw 75.2 million shares traded, while Access Holdings followed with 61.4 million shares, indicating sustained interest in large-cap stocks.
By market value, Dangote Cement led with N56.4 billion, followed by Etranzact at N24.2 billion, MTN Nigeria at N6.9 billion, Nestlé Nigeria at N6.7 billion, and Zenith Bank at N6 billion.
Top 5 Gainers
- Secure Electronic Technology — up 10.00% to N1.32
- Guinness Nigeria — up 9.92% to N423.20
- John Holt — up 9.72% to N11.85
- Sovereign Trust Insurance — up 9.57% to N2.06
- Linkage Assurance — up 9.33% to N1.64
Top 5 Losers
- Red Star Express — down 9.98% to N25.70
- Aradel — down 9.68% to N1,210.30
- Presco — down 9.30% to N1,701.10
- LivingTrust Mortgage Bank — down 8.40% to N4.80
- DAAR Communications — down 7.50% to N1.85
SWOOTs Performance
Among SWOOTs—stocks with market capitalisations above N1 trillion—performance was largely negative, with Aradel down 9.68%, Wema Bank shedding 2.35%, Nigerian Breweries falling 0.66%, and MTN declining 0.26%.
On the positive side, Lafarge gained 3.42%, while International Breweries recorded a modest increase of 0.36%.
FUGAZ Performance
Within the FUGAZ banking group, First Holdco posted a gain of 1.92%, standing out as the only gainer during the session.
On the downside, GTCO declined by 7.41%, UBA fell by 4.22%, and Zenith Bank slipped by 1.03%, reflecting broader selling pressure in the sector.
What You Should Know
Market volume surged to a record 6.06 billion shares on the Nigerian Exchange, indicating heightened trading activity during the session.
Etranzact accounted for 85.3% of total traded volume on March 18, 2026, dominating market activity for the day.
The Nigerian equities market is now valued at approximately N129 trillion, reflecting its continued expansion.
